Expensive toys: a doll’s house that’s worth more than 100,000 dirhams

Here's what makes this doll’s house by the United Kingdom-based Dragons of Walton Street so magical.

The Walton Park Doll's House has been created by the nursery designer of Britain's royal family. Courtesy Dragons of Walton Street
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The Walton Park Doll’s House measures 6,045 square inches and has 15 separate rooms spread over five storeys. These include a 12-seater dining room, library, four bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and utility room, and a private garage that’s home to a miniature Rolls-Royce Ghost. It costs Dh101,600.

The house features a real marble entrance hall, individually laid parquet flooring, a sweeping flight of stairs and remote-controllable lighting. It comes complete with a ready-made family of four. All the furniture is handmade and includes a Beatrix Potter-themed nursery with wooden floors, an Aubusson rug, a chandelier, and a Dragons cot bed and chest of drawers, as well as gold silk curtains complete with a cream trim.

The house was part of Channel 4’s World’s Most Expensive Toys segment in December, which also featured Swarovski-encrusted rocking horses, a luxury supercar for kids, a handcrafted puppet-show theatre and a snooker-table-sized replica of a Formula One racing track.

All the elements of Dragon's doll's houses can be custom-created, from curtains and carpets to lighting, furniture and murals. It is the only brand in the UK to hold the rights to use characters from series such as The Tales of Beatrix Potter, Flower Fairies, Paddington Bear and Brambly Hedge.

This piece was first designed in 2014 by Dragons’ managing director and royal nursery designer Lucinda Croft, in collaboration with luxury homeware expert Nina Campbell, who supplied miniature versions of her famed wallpaper. Depending on individual orders and preferences, the doll’s house takes three months to create and weighs 160 kilograms.

For almost 40 years, Dragons of Walton Street has been producing bespoke furniture, luxury interiors and hand-painted accessories for children’s rooms. Princes William and Harry, and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice have slept in nurseries designed by Dragons, and Lady Diana, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow have been some of its most loyal customers. The showroom is located in the nursery department of Harrods, London, with clients in 73 countries. In the UAE, Walton’s products are available from Nest for Kids in Abu Dhabi Mall. The company also creates bespoke interiors and is currently working on design schemes for three children’s rooms in Abu Dhabi.

Read this and more stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, February 2.

pmunyal@thenational.ae